Sexism Portrayed In Video Games

I have never realized how sexism in video games were such a complex and questionable topic. Being a guy, I have never paid much attention to anything besides how eye catching and enjoyable the game was. I can see how games that stereotype females much like the Super Princess Peach games affect young kids. Kids from a young age learn things from what they do and when they start playing games that focus on female characters being stereotyped, kids will see things that way. Why do females portray that kind of role in video games? Is it because their are not enough females in the video game industry? Or maybe the majority of females that don’t play video games overcome those that do and don‘t really affect the outcome of the game for women?

Super Mario is definitely a classic! This game is what got me through elementary school with a smile on my face. I have occasionally played this game with my family and enjoyed every minute of it. I would have never thought that this family fun game or any of the Mario-related games would be a suspect in the matter of sexism! I am sure that there are females who find a blonde girl wearing a pink dress portraying the very symbol of women being stereotyped outrageous and unethical. Although, there are many games out there that cause a bigger impact than games like Mario or Super Princess Peach.

Video Games today are filled with violence, money and sex. Female roles in games have noticeably risen at a slow but steady rate often hurting the image of women. These games actually have females playing their own role in the game but they are far from being respectful to female gamers. When and if females are in video games such as Grand Theft Auto, they are occasionally portrayed very negatively. In Grand Theft Auto, females are walking along the city streets as prostitutes. These prostitutes play the role of a health pack… in a very sexual way. While you play as the criminal beating on police officers and stealing cars left and right, you can go to a prostitute to replenish your health when it’s low though you will have to pay the prostitute money. What makes it more disturbing is the fact that you can actually go and beat the prostitute and take your money back if you wanted.

Video games such as Tomb Raider and Blood Rayne actually have females as lead characters. These characters not only shoot, roll, jump and kick like the male characters, but it is noticeably obvious that their breasts are larger than average and tend to jump around with every step. Is this what the video game developers do to attract consumers? Whatever it is that they are doing, it seems to be positively impacting male consumers and negatively affecting female consumers. Who’s to say that because of games portraying woman as a sexual symbol has the average age of male gamers gone up? Disturbing and immature? Yes. Maybe in the near future the symbolism of women will change in video games. For now, we can only hope that kids don’t play games that disgrace the image of females or it may never be over.



This is a short video of male gamers finding Lara Crofts breasts highly amusing (no nudity). It's kind of hard to see but apparently he actually recorded this while playing the game because it was that interesting. Kind of hilarious if you ask me.

BLOG FOR WEEK 3

The epidemic is growing and there is no doubt about that. People are being drawn into playing video games all over the world. With the amount of video gamers increasing, the production of games have also increased dramatically over the past few years. Video games define creative literature and people play it to become part of the imaginary.
Video games are used all over the world whether it’s for educational purposes or for the sheer fact of enjoyment! I find that video games have pushed the century further and it has aided in the advancements of technology. Using video games for training police officers and bomb diffusers, can greatly increase the efficiency of training experience without putting lives at risk. Kids can also enjoy learning interesting facts and gain knowledge through educational gaming! Video games have been around for years and they are getting more complicated and affecting those who play them.
Until recently reading “Studying Computer Games” by David Buckingham, I did not know that most of the gamers were between the ages of twenty-nine and thirty-five! Twenty-nine accounts for those who play video games and thirty-five for those who play computer games. I always thought that the majority if the gamers would be around the ages of ten to maybe twenty-five at most. I see why the study of gaming is important for game developers. It’s crucial to know what the market is like when your trying to expand your product so you don’t get left behind with the rest of the competition.

IGN, THE NEWS & UNDERSTANDING GAMES

Fantasy games have definitely been one of my favorites and always will be. Reading the article “The Influence of Literature and Myth in Video Games” by Douglass C. Perry, was interesting given that I have always enjoyed a good mythology story! I can name countless titles of games that have some sort of mythical influence of some sort that are out in the market today as bestsellers. Games all the way back from “Zelda” to “Final Fantasy” are just a few to be named.
I have always found mythology typically Greek mythology, to be fascinating in every way since I knew what a hero and villain was. Something about god’s throwing lightning bolts down from the skies and creating tidal waves big enough to swallow small cities made it really hard to turn away from. Although I absolutely love all kinds of mythology, I have leaned more towards movies and animation than video games.
Some of my favorite games I have enjoyed playing over and over is the “Resident Evil” series and the popular game known as “Diablo.” They are both a bit on the scary side of things but it was fun killing things that weren’t just plain old human beings. The myths that zombies are real must have been a huge pot of gold for the video gaming industry knowing that they didn’t have to use Nazi’s or terrorists for every villain in the game. It just wouldn’t be Resident Evil if I saw Billy Mitchell in his beloved tie trying bite off a piece of meat from my arm. It catches people’s attention when things are mixed up with mythology and fantasy like the incinerated bodies of a hungry zombie!
On page 6 of “The Influence of Literature and Myth in Video Games” by Douglass C. Perry, he states “So it's not going to come down to who has the greatest graphics. It's going to come down to who has the coolest game. What am I going to get into the most? It's going to come down to the games with the best story and content." I agree with Perry in that people or the “average” people who play video games will likely drift towards the actual game play rather than how great the graphics are. Video game systems are only going to get more advanced from here on such as: upgraded graphics, upgraded system memory and attractive console designs. Give me a LCD television and working Xbox 360 and I’m set.
Agreeing with the numerous video game directors mentioned in Douglass’s review, the game that will sell and catch people attention are those with a superior storyline and good game play. One of my favorite games to play is the Zelda series and for one, you are not able to see the sweat dripping of Link’s face nor can you see the folds on his robes but it is still fun to play because of the great literature tied into it. The game has a great storyline and many people like myself find it enjoyable to sit down and play the game for a few hours if not days! Not to say that graphics don’t enhance the gaming experience, it very much does but not if it out weighs the story line. Balance is the key here and you can definitely see more gamers finding interest in these types of video games.
Literature is a powerful tool in the world of creating video games. Literature is what brings the games to life because of the creative and powerful stories it can bring to our imagination. Without great literature, video games would be blatant, boring and colorless in the competitive world of gaming.

The video game episodes 1-4 was definitely something that caught my attention. It was interesting and quite fun to play. Though it was more like a documentary than a game, I had no problem reading what Bob and Bub had to say. I really have had no idea what it took to make a good video game for people to enjoy until Bob showed it to me in a rather simple and entertaining way! Video games need more than just an attractive front page, it needs fair rules, variety and interactivity. I can see how everything Bob says ties into what good video games of today are made of.
Games must be unpredictable for a variety of players because of the different skill levels. I find this very true because games do get either boring or insanely frustrating. When I am new to a game I would generally start off on the standard intermediate level and not jump right into legendary mode. The reason? I don’t want to die over and over on the first level and end up throwing my entire game set into the TV. People do get frustrated over games because the games are either too hard or to easy! I think it is extremely important to add different levels of difficulty and a variety of outcome to keep the game interesting and enjoyable.

The King Of Kong

I am not much of a gamer myself, although, I have played my fair share. There are a couple of games that I get pretty competitive at such as sports games, particularly soccer and first person shooters. Putting the 21st century games aside, I have enjoyed a couple classic games too, much like the “Donkey Kong” game featured in the movie “King of Kong.” To name a few, Pac-Man, Mario and Snake have been some of my favorites when you needed something to do in the middle of work or long lectures and such. “King of Kong” has actually been quite interesting to say the least, considering it was like a hit drama series for those that live in the gaming world. Though the movie was packed full of drama, it was also surprisingly humorous in many ways.
After watching the movie “King of Kong,” I was surprised to see how competitive gaming was. Furthermore, I was surprised to see how cruel and selfish the participants of the competition was over this obsession to be better than the rest. The main characters, Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe is truly a unique set of cast representing much of the “hero“ and the “villain“ in a war story or any heroic tale. When they were competing, my thoughts about Steve Wiebe was that he was a husband and a father, why would he pour hours and hours of time into something so non-beneficial in his life.. Billy Mitchell, on the other hand, got me to say several negative comments about the type of person he was. Billy Mitchell, I believe, was extremely selfish, unfair and a hypocrite but of course, his personality has got me and several others to laugh.
Overall, the movie kept me entertained finding new things that I have never come across in the world of gaming. I particularly found Steve Wiebe’s actions surprising and how he constantly pushed through what looked like a lost cause. The favored contestant was obviously Billy Mitchell and his posse, who of course bossed around the newbie for going against him. The fact that he didn’t give up and kept pursuing what he wanted to do made him recognized by the gaming community and earned him the long awaited respect that he deserved. Though Steve Wiebe’s score was not placed in the number one spot, I find that he has more than what it takes to be the best at what he sets his mind to.